Anticipation is growing among local art lovers as this year’s Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival draws near. Consistently ranked as one of the area’s most popular events, the festival is also recognized nationally as a premier celebration of art and artists.
“I love the festival. You in The Woodlands are very unique in holding festivities that bring it all together—community, music and art,” says featured artist Guilloume. “The festival is unique. It belongs to everyone. When they called me for 2022, I was very honored.”
The Columbian-born minimalist artist has created his own unique style which he calls “Bolismo,” a technique that makes use of simple, rounded shapes, along with texture and color, to convey the human form, emotions and relationships. Eighty-five percent of everything that exists in the universe is circular in shape, explains Guilloume. “I’ve spent 42 years playing with circles. They symbolize unification and completeness.” He quotes the Hindu adage, that “What goes around comes around.” What you give is what you receive, he says.
Guilloume works in a variety of mediums, from oils and ink to bronze and steel. An arresting characteristic of his human figures is that they have no facial features. “I like to emphasize what we have in common, not our differences. We are unique, yet we have so much in common. We should embrace those similarities.”
Festival-goers can enjoy Guilloume’s work, along with original art from over 200 other talented regional, national and international artists, in a variety of mediums and styles, says Jenny Carattini-Wright, executive director of The Woodlands Arts Council, which organizes the annual event. There is something for everyone at the Waterway Arts Festival, says Jenny.
The theme of this year’s festival is abundance, explains Jenny, an appreciation for all The Woodlands has to offer its residents in the way of art. She says the inspiration for the theme is Guilloume’s featured piece, “Celebrating Abundance.” Guilloume says the piece is meant to express that “We can all celebrate what we have in common, our abundance and our abiding prosperity.”
The process of choosing the festival’s featured artist is intensely competitive, says Jenny. It starts in the fall, many months before the festival takes place. Artists are invited to apply, and a panel of judges consisting of gallery owners, art teachers and business professionals review the art and interview the artists, resulting in a “best-of-show” group of finalists. From this group, the featured artist for the festival is chosen.
Each year, the featured artist donates a piece of art to be auctioned off at the annual Art Dash Party, which will take place this April 8th at 6 p.m. at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center. Guillome’s 2022 winner, “Celebrating Abundance,” is a striking 72-by 48-inch oil on aluminum triptych, consisting of three panels. Jenny says that during the judging as everyone viewed Guilloume’s artwork, “We all were all struck by his talent and the beautiful messages his work conveyed.”
For Guilloume, the reaction is what makes his work so worthwhile–the ability to make an emotional impact through art is a powerful way to bring people together. “When we notice what we have in life rather than what is missing, we begin feeling gratitude,” says Guilloume. “We should express our unity with each other, and I do that through art.”